Trivandrum-Kanya Kumari: A Day Spent with a Visit to Kovalam Beach and at the Southernmost Point of the Indian Sub-Continent:

Saturday, July 25, 2026

Trivandrum-Kanya Kumari

A Day Spent with a Visit to Kovalam Beach and at the Southernmost Point of the Indian Sub-Continent:

After the adventurous bus journey we had yesterday, we decided to treat ourselves to the luxury of a privately hired car and driver for the day to take us further down the Kerala Coast and into the state of Tamil Nadu. We had both slept beautifully in our most comfortable bed and after a hot shower, we dressed and were ready to enjoy breakfast in our hotel (included with the price of our room).

Breakfast was of two types: Indian (for which I opted—it included idlis with curry, iddiappam with a chick pea stew, medu vadas with coconut chutney plus fresh fruit—little yellow elchi bananas, water melon and a choice of tea or coffee). The Western breakfast consisted of eggs any style with toast, butter and jam, fresh fruit, tea and coffee. Llew opted for the Western and enjoyed his omlette with buttered toast. Fueled with our food, we requested the helpful Receptionist Honey to find us a private cab driver to fulfil our day’s travel needs. It did not take him long to connect us with a lovely driver named Rajesh who stayed with us for the whole day. He spoke a smattering of English but was very comfortable in Hindi (unlike most people in the South) which made communication with him both very simple and easy.

And so, by 10.20 am, we were in our taxi, heading off for Kanya Kumari. It is a journey that ordinarily takes about two hours, but for some reason, it took us much longer. This was probably due to the fact that we stopped briefly at Kovalam Beach en route.

Stopping at Kovalam Beach:

Kovalam is one of Kerala’s best-known beaches. I’m not really sure why as we did not find anything particularly distinctive about it. It took us about an hour to get there from Trivandrum and once there, it kind of seemed pointless. The tide was in and the ocean was a beautiful dove blue-grey. The sand was wet even at the shore which made it possible to walk down the stairs leading to it an easy business but not a lengthy one. We stayed for a few minutes, took pictures and left. The Leela Group of Hotels has a lovely five-star hotel at one end which is quite picturesque. I found a few souvenir shops and went in search of our souvenir magnets but there were none of Kovalam Beach—only of Kerala. I was able to pick up a few shells at a fraction of the cost I would have paid anywhere in the West and those became my souvenirs for this trip.

Heading South to Kanya Kumari:

And then, more than two hours after getting back into our car and heading further down south, we arrived at Kanya Kumari (formerly known as Cape Comorin). It is the southern tip of the Indian sub-continent and it is the confluence point of three major oceans: the Indian Ocean (in the south), the Arabian Sea (to the West) and the Bay of Bengal (to the East). Rumor used to have it that there are three shades of sand to be found on these beaches, but that is incorrect. The sands of the three beaches merge together to create a single shade. However, the lighting at different times of the day can create an optical illusion that leads the viewer to believe that there are three distinct shades of blue water that come together at this point. And indeed, that was something we easily discerned. You have beautiful shades of aquamarine, cobalt and turquoise blue meeting (the sort of thing we had seen in Hawai’i) in the gigantic waves that hit the shore.

We stopped initially at the confluence of the three oceans—the point known as Triveni Sangam. More about it later. Our first destination was the area’s main attraction, the Rock Temple dedicated to Swami Vivekananda, an Indian sage and philosopher. After Rajesh parked our car, he dropped us off at the roundabout and pointed us in the direction that would lead to the stop from where we could buy tickets for the ferry that would take us across the water to the Temple, which lies just a tiny bit offshore. What also catches the eye is a gigantic statue of a deity (who turned out to be the Hindu sage Thiruvalluram), on an adjacent rock. To get from the Vivekananda Temple to the Hindu Sage’s Temple, you walk across a glass bottomed footbridge which is quite a nice experience in itself as you can see the foaming waters of the sea crashing upon the rocks below. Pretty cool!

Visiting the Vivekananda Temple:

The ride in the ferry lasts about twenty minutes, you are given life jackets (a very wise move) and deposited on the other side. It is quite orderly as the crowds make control necessary through channels that maintain order. We were very fortunate not to find a crowd in the line when boarding. In fact, we were only about the first twenty passengers that boarded. Once on the other side, we gave up our life jackets and were about to climb the rock when we were directed by some of the volunteers to a small room where we watched a short film about the temple, its origin and its construction. This was highly informative, particularly for us who do not know too much about Vivekananda, his life or work.

You take your shoes off in this entire complex and walk with socks or barefooted.The temple complex consists of three parts: the rust-colored stone temple housing a large gleaming brass statue of the philosopher. Once we saw this interior, we walked to the opposite side, where there is a replica of a stone footprint said to have been created by the goddess Kanya Kumari (after whom the site is named) in one of the Hindu epics. Vivekananda is said to have come to this site to stand on this same footprint. Hence, the footprint is well defined and well cordoned off inside a glass enclosure—you can see it but cannot photograph or touch it. Hence, the temple in Vivekananda’s honor was built right opposite. The third structure is the one to the sage Thiruvalluram and this required walking across the glass footbridge. Once inside, you climb up a few flights of stairs to arrive at a viewing gallery which brings you to the feet of the sage. We were very much reminded of our climb up the mountain called Corcovado to see the Statue of Christos Redemptor (Christ The Redeemer) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which we had done together, a few years ago. Of course, we did take pictures at this spot too and also enjoyed wonderful views of the seashore at Kanya Kumari. Interestingly, there is a Muslim mosque and a Christian church on these shores—which leads me to believe that this is considered a somewhat sacred spot in all religions.

After we had surveyed all these properties, we took a few pictures and returned to the orderly lines that would lead us back to the ferry that would take us back to the shore. It was here that we found our magnet of Kanya Kumari in one of the shops as well as bags of more shells as I became really delighted to find them at such a cheap price. It was only their weight and fragility that prevented me from buying more.

Visiting the Gandhi Mandapam:

I have to say that it was quite hot and being in the outdoors at mid-day was not entirely comfortable. As we’d had a heavy breakfast, we were not too hungry, but it was important to find shade. We made our way next to the Gandhi Mandapam, a very interesting modern structure.

This white building was specially constructed on the spot where Gandhi’s ashes were kept exposed after his death so that people could pay their respects. A few days later, some of them were scattered in the Triveni Sangam (the three oceans that envelope the peninsula of India would forever hold the ashes of the man who had brought the region into global prominence by giving up his life for it). There is a very reasonably-priced ticket to get into all these venues and there is also footwear to be left behind for safekeeping, as a mark of respect.

Inside, you will find a large, wide hall with a small structure at the far end. In this receptable, Gandhi’s ashes had once lain. All around the hall, on the walls, are a pictorial history of Gandhi’s life. I found it quite fascinating indeed as I used to teach Gandhi’s life and work in my South Asian Studies courses at NYU and seeing all these photographs on the wall took me on a sort of deja-vu trip through the various phases of his life on which I used to lecture. We took about twenty minutes in this space, collected our footwear and returned to the roundabout. As we were carrying our shells with us, we called Rajesh to pick us up and once he arrived, we gratefully got into our AC car and asked him to take us to an AC restaurant so that we could get a bite to eat. He did manage to find us a place in a hotel but the menu was most unappetizing and all we had was a cooling lassi each.

Scaling the Lighthouse for Bird’s Eye Views of Kanya Kumari:

Having cooled off a bit, we proceeded to the next item on our agenda: climbing up to the light house for 360 degree views of Kanya Kumari. Fortunately, there is a lift to get to the top. My brother Russel, reminded me, when I spoke to him on the phone from Kerala, that we had been up to the top about 40 years ago! Truly, he has a phenomenal memory! That said, I too had a feeling that I had been to the place before as soon as I entered the compound.

The lighthouse is not very tall (maybe about six storeys in height). It is a candy-striped red and white building which closes at 6.00 pm. When we arrived there, it was about 5.30pm—which left us half an hour to stay at the top and take pictures. Yes, we did get the 360 degree views of the town but, more importantly, we had a chance to see the tapering West coast of India in a clear line as it petered out into the sea. We did take a few photographs as the ebbing sun rays gilded the landscape quite magically. But then, it was time to descend back again to the arms of Mother Earth and by 6.00pm, we were summoning Rajesh to pick us up again. We had one more item to be covered and we headed towards the spot.

Viewing the Sunset from Sunset Beach:

Two of the biggest attractions of Kanya Kumari are watching the sunrise over the East coast of India and viewing the sunset over the West Coast. When we had visited, forty years ago, we had stayed over the previous night and woken up at 5.00 am (literally the crack of dawn) to view the sunrise. It is a happy family memory that I deeply cherish. This time round, we would be able to see the sunset—so stay we did until we were able to tick that item off our To-Do List.

Sunset was supposed to be at 6.41 pm. This left us about half an hour to find a parking spot and then wait to see the sunset. Well, we weren’t the only ones with such a plan. Half of Kanya Kumari was out on the beach attempting to find a good spot from which to watch the sun sink over the Western horizon. At Rajesh’s suggestion, we got to a spot where we could seat ourselves comfortably and still see the molten gold orb disappear into the sea. Rajesh also took a few pictures of us on the sand as the gilding rays of the sun brought a romantic filter to the scene. Hundreds of people gathered at the same spot to take selfies or to pose in groups as the sun began into downward descent. And then, just give minutes later, it was gone and another day came to an end on the Indian sub-continent.

Long Drive Back to Trivandrum with Dinner En Route:

And then, it was time for us to pile back into our car and get to our hotel in Trivandrum. Darkness fell swiftly over the land as soon as the sun set. We were tired and happy to have a cool, comfortable environment in which to unwind before reaching home. We requested Rajesh to stop at a fast food place such as McDonald’s or Burger King so that we could pick up a take home meal. But Rajesh had other ideas! He suggested a place called Taste of Kerala for what he said would be “excellent fish”. As Llew does not eat fish, he almost nixed the plan. But I told Rajesh that I eat fish and would like to try the famous Karimeen Polichattu (Pearl Fish Steamed in a Banana Leaf). Rajesh said that I was sure to get it at that spot. Hence, the spot became a no-brainer.

True to his prophecy, we really did enjoy an excellent seafood meal at Taste of Kerala. There was a live seafood counter from which we could choose our own favorite fish—fortunately for Llew, there was shell fish too and he chose a neat batch of gigantic shrimp. I chose the pearl fish and had them make it the way I wanted. We ordered fresh lime sodas to wash down our meal and, seated at dimly lit tables in a lovely outdoorsy atmosphere, we enjoyed our dinner. Our driver Rajesh was taken care of by the proprietors, and it seems that he is accustomed to bringing his passengers to this place. His idea was a sterling one and we were very pleased we took his counsel.

Dinner done, we had about a half hour’s run to our hotel. Rajesh dropped us at our gate and within minutes, Honey was present, to open the main door, hand over our keys and bid us goodnight as we climbed the one floor to our room and called it a night.

It had been a full and very productive day and we were amazed at how much ground we had covered, thanks to the services of our own private vehicle and driver.

Until tomorrow, cheerio…